Stories behind memorable albums of the 1970s as told by the artists

Month: September 2019

Brian Wilson and The Zombies add a touch of ‘Philly soul’ to the show

When I was a kid in the 1970s, listening to WLS out of Chicago, I used to keep a cassette recorder loaded with a blank tape on my nightstand next to the radio. As I lay there trying to fall asleep, I would listen to the music, and when a song came on that I liked, I’d fumble through the darkness and attempt to hit the “record” button.

That’s how we put a setlist together back in those days. And even though I got fairly adept at hitting the “record” button when one of my favorite songs came on (actually you had to hit “play” and “record” at the same time, which increased the degree of difficulty when doing it in the dark), my reaction time was always a tick or two behind. So my setlist of favorite tunes I played on that cassette recorder was inevitably missing the intros … Read more

It’s still easy to celebrate, celebrate, dance to the music with Three Dog Night

When I was a teenager in the mid-1970s, there were three songs I played over and over: “Sister Golden Hair” by America, “China Grove” by the Doobie Brothers, and “An Old Fashioned Love Song” by Three Dog Night.

Not surprisingly, those three bands have always been — and remain to this day — among my favorite bands. I still turn those songs up when they come on the radio.

And although I’ve seen America and the Doobie Brothers live several times, I’d never seen Three Dog Night in person, until this past weekend.

After 52 years — Three Dog Night formed in 1967 with founding members Cory Wells, Chuck Negron and Danny Hutton on lead vocals; Jimmy Greenspoon on keyboards; Joe Schermie on bass; Michael Allsup on guitar; and Floyd Sneed on drums — time has taken it toll. Wells, Greenspoon and Schermie have died; Sneed has retired from public … Read more

Eddie Money, rock star: Gracious, honest and always entertaining

In the early 1970s, Eddie Money, mostly broke and trying to make it in the music business, was dating a woman who was a student at the University of California, Berkeley. But the woman’s mother didn’t like her daughter hanging out with the young musician.

“She was in a sorority and her mother didn’t want her to be involved with a rock star, so to speak,” said Money.

So Money wrote a song about the experience.

“It was about being broke and going with a rich girl at the time, which was good for me because she moved out of the sorority house and her mother didn’t know it,” he said. “She was living with me in North Oakland and paying my rent. And she was also bringing steaks home for the icebox, which was fantastic. So it all worked out great.”

Oh, and the song worked out great, too. … Read more

Daryl Hall and John Oates: Their hits are still on our list as the best things in life

I’ve long been an advocate of Daryl Hall and John Oates performing a complete album during their live show. It’s not a new concept. Brian Wilson has performed the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” (1966) album for a while now. And the Doobie Brothers have done the complete  “Toulouse Street” (1972) and “The Captain and Me” (1973) albums in concert.

I think it’s cool because the fans get to hear deeper cuts that bands usually don’t perform live. But there is the very real possibility — the Beatles are on the record as saying this — that some album cuts, particularly those albums that were recorded early in the artists’ careers, have never been performed live by the band. There are songs on albums that bands learned just for the album, and would have to relearn them some 40 to 50 years later.

So it’s not necessarily an easy thing … Read more

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén